Jol Says Tonewoods Don't Matter

[HSB0531]

Well, of the basses I've owned, the ones that stands out "tone wood wise" are #0531 and a Fender Walnut Elite II Precision Bass.

Especially in recording with it (Fender).  It had a very distinctive low mid and midrange, not like any of my other Fenders. 

It had a very wide neck with an ebony fingerboard and a wide radius that made you play differently too.

The Standard bass just resonates and has a real woody tone.

But, everything is important to the sound search in your head: Your fingers, guitar, amp, the speakers, and the sound that eventually gets back to your ears.

[django49]

8 hours ago, Steve Haynie said:

Breedlove is pushing myrtlewood guitars because the trees are native to Oregon.  Who wants a guitar made of myrtlewood when everyone knows acoustic guitars are only supposed to be mahogany, rosewood, and spruce?  Apparently people are opening up to the idea of a different tonewood.  Taylor is making streaked ebony acceptable. 

50+ years ago Charlie Kaman was trying to get people to play his plastic guitars.  A few people gave them a try and thought they sounded alright. 

I picked up a myrtlewood 12 string Breedlove in a local store. I was very impressed with both the sound and playability. If I ever get back into a buying mood, I may head back over there.

All joking aside re tonewoods, I do  think they make a difference. I know I evolved with a fairly unusual combination of woods for a few custom orders (cue the Shishov) and I do not regret the cost at all.

Re vintage and highly praised guitars, a short story told to me by a high level guitarist I hung out with a bit in SoCal. He was an old time acquaintance of George and Leo and was well known as a Tele player. Sitting in a G&L  booth at NAMM, where Leo was being ignored by all the young hotshots who were those days seeking SuperStrats and the like.....

"Leo, people are paying such high prices for those old Strats. You must have spent a lot of time making all the pieces work so much magic".

"Oh hell no, Jeff.....They just came down the assembly line and the gals (BTW, they were women as they were less distracted than the men when doIng repetitive tasks all day long) would just grab the first three pickups they could reach outta that big old pickle barrel full of them. Slap them in place, solder them and shove it on down the line. If it worked when we plugged it in, we shipped it. We couldn't afford to get too fancy".

Not every one was magic, but they did sorta catch on anyway. Even if they were built to a (low) price point.

BTW, he knew EXACTLY what they cost to build way back then.....I have forgotten the number, but think it was something like $124.16.

[BubbaVO]

I’ve posted the video about the paper and glue strat build before.  The line that always makes me laugh is - “it sounds like a strat”.  

 

[Biz Prof]

33 minutes ago, BubbaVO said:

The line that always makes me laugh is - “it sounds like a strat”.

Lol. It probably also tastes like chicken.

[Jakeboy]

It changes the tone but it doesn’t matter…? That is intentionally misleading, pot-stirring BS and he knows it.

[kizanski]

13 minutes ago, Jakeboy said:

It changes the tone but it doesn’t matter…? That is intentionally misleading, pot-stirring BS and he knows it.

He used to wear Elton John glasses.  

Let that sink in.  

[Willie G. Moseley]

Here's a 2010 Breedlove Masterclass B22; bearclaw spruce top, myrtlewood sides and back. First and so far the only time I'd heard of myrlewood used in guitar construction.

[Hbom]

I think that Breedlove started using Myrtle in the early to mid 90s.

[Willie G. Moseley]

I think the notion of companies like Taylor and Fritz Bros. using sinker redwood is kinda cool, but have read and heard some conflicting reports on the tone.  Roger Fritz says: "It sounds very similar to spruce—warm and articulate, but it’s not a hard wood, so it’s not quite as bright as spruce, and it’s certainly not as bright as maple,"   while the Taylor website says says of: sinker redwood: ." The age and size of these trees translates into a tight grain with nice cross-grain stiffness, so it will tend to have a fairly bold response, with a brilliance complemented by warm overtones similar to cedar. In fact, it’s often characterized around the Taylor complex as "cedar on steroids.'"

[django49]

^^^

I am a believer in redwood as a "tonewood" though in my case for electrics. Both Ronin guitars and a certain specific guitar from Seattle builder David Myka have ancient solid redwood bodies. But I discovered redwood as a top on a chambered or hollow guitar through Nik Huber's work, either over mahogany or korina. As somepone said, "The voice of the angels". Redwood IS a softer wood. My Shishkov CO was inspired by that CO "Ultimate DuoTone" which had a softwood (cedar) top. To my ear, it adds (don't throw anything!) a bit of an acoustic voice. That is, a "softer" tone. But if amplified with a piezo, a nice "crispness" if blended lightly in with magnetic pickups.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but if combined with a korina body and neck, ebony board and a long scale, it meets my needs. I almost certainly would have commissioned another Shishkov with more of a hollow construction had I not stumbled onto the perfect Grez Mendocino. Which complements old #88 perfectly.

I suspect that sinker redwood, like the Hamer Earthen Maple series, would add a bit more zing.

[django49]

A comparison of 5 different woods......for acoustic guitars. This may or may not help. But I do like the myrtlewood.

https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/acoustic-guitar-tonewoods-do-they-matter/?bsft_aaid=25a4fa8f-620a-4b0d-b6f2-ea0e81d35698&bsft_eid=d71f7c1b-6532-eed6-1424-8b4c51804a41&utm_campaign=20230405-guitar-gallery-breedlove&utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=email&bsft_clkid=34eec2c2-7bbd-4ccb-8999-c97089ab07e1&bsft_uid=3ffa8af8-e370-4488-b24f-dd0d2a70bc52&bsft_mid=c0826a93-c6f9-4644-a832-74fa2f6d6487&bsft_mime_type=html&bsft_ek=2023-04-05T17%3A05%3A36Z&bsft_lx=8&bsft_tv=12

[gorch]

I don‘t mind tone woods a long as 6 strings stay in tune. Most of so called tone woods don‘t make this, Strats in the lead.

[JGale]

Repeat after me..

Locking Ratio©️ tuners.

Babicz bridge.

My 512 was horrible. WAS!

[Pieman]

I wonder what's his take  today on finish coatings or if that has changed?  When I first became interested in Hamers, I think Hamer boasted of  14 coats, in an era where thin coats and letting the wood breathe.

[TBP]

I've read a few discussions about woods/materials and marketing and am fascinated by it. While playing different instruments --including clarinets, pianos, oboes, and saxophones (never a wood one, though) -- leads me to believe construction materials matter, they way instruments are made is more of a factor, even before any electronics).  And I think we would be better off of more buyers were willing to try different woods and materials. 

While in music school we invited a saxophone collector for a talk and to see the multitude of very rare saxes, like C-melodies, bass saxes, and cool stuff. One was a plastic saxophone with metal keys. He talked about it, showed it, mentioned Charlie Parker once recorded with one, then said, "But the craziest thing is this..." and wailed on it for a bit.  It sounded stunningly good.

Anyway, concerning guitars. I have a Martin 000-15 made of sapele, as at the time Martin was making some of sapele, others of mahogany.  I guess I was one of the few who bought a sapele version, as I understand many shoppers weren't even giving them a chance. Martin stopped making the sapele versions and added an "M" to the model number.

I really like the guitar, enough that I recently sold a much high-end acoustic made of more traditional woods.

But if I were to sell it I'd have to ask for less, as many would view its stripey wood as undesirable. 

[crunchee]

I like Ash for Teles, especially because it's durable; though Alder might work just as well, depending on the situation:

 

[diablo175]

I dunno. Seems a meritless and even pointless expenditure of energy to debate this. If you hear a discernible difference in tone based on wood used in the build, good on ya. If you can narrow it down to a specific type, even better. If not, invest in all the other elements that go into making up a guitar's tone. Move on.

[Steve Haynie]

4 hours ago, Pieman said:

I wonder what's his take  today on finish coatings or if that has changed?  When I first became interested in Hamers, I think Hamer boasted of  14 coats, in an era where thin coats and letting the wood breathe.

There were 14 coats with sanding in between, so the final finish was still very thin.  The finish is the thickness of your B string.